Since late September, frequent Crikey! contributor and self-described “disgruntled, one-legged, anti-social, curmudgeon of an occasional lawyer” Bob Gosford has been lighting up the blogosphere as well as the Northern Territory with The Northern Myth, a new blog that’s dedicated to… well, it’s dedicated to lots of things. As Bob says:

Here I want to write about politics, law and life in the Northern Territory – looking back over my shoulder every now and then to remind myself and you, dear reader, of what has passed before, so that we might not forget lessons already learned. I’ll also write about the things that I love and share this part of the world with – the birds, animals, the acculturated landscapes and the people of central Australia. Hopefully you will like what you read and make your own views known. If I get things wrong, need to be pulled up or get a bit full of myself please feel free to correct me as you seek fit, while at all times maintaining a forceful civility. But of course I’ll reserve to myself the right to disagree, rationally or otherwise, with anything you say.

HIs latest post will be of interest to regular readers of this blog, as it is a long analysis of the proposed resale royalty that makes the scheme seem even more buffel-headed than I originally thought. I’m not going to steal his thunder, though. You should read what he has to say for yourself.

And while you’re there, scroll through the archives. There are several great posts that describe the effects of the Intervention from inside the Territory, specifically from Yuendumu, where Bob is living these days. His coverage of the recent opening of the Yuendumu pool is a brilliant look at local politics and the effects of bad journalism.

There’s plenty of local color of a less political variety, too, as his recent post on the Tanami Track evidences to great delight.

And finally, there are wonderful essays on what I’ll loosely call natural history–mostly birds and dogs. Several of these themes–dogs, art, life in the Territory–can intersect in a single post, like the recent “Dion Beasley and his Cheeky Dogs.” Dion Beasley is a young Aboriginal artist who lives in Tennant Creek and has recently had an exhibition of his prints at the Olive Pink Botanical Gadens in Alice Springs. The prints are available from Nomad Arts. It’s not really too soon to be thinking about Christmas gifts, is it?